Eric Bazilian, frontman for the popular 1980s Philadelphia roots-rock band The Hooters, says a recent burst of songwriting inspiration sent him listening to “The Optimist,” his debut solo album released on an independent label nine years ago.

What he heard, Bazilian says – that after a decade “The Optimist” was still a complete, accurate and honest picture of who he is – prompted him to give the disc a second chance.

So tonight Bazilian will play the disc in its entirety at a show at Sellersville Theater 1894. He’ll be backed by Hooters drummer David Uosikkinen and singer/songwriter/engineer/producer Cliff Hillis on bass.

Bazilian released “The Optimist” during a hiatus for The Hooters, whose debut album, “Nervous Night,” went double platinum, who had the hits “All You Zombies,” “Day By Day,” “And We Danced” and “Where Do the Children Go?”and opened the Live Aid concert in Philly in 1985.

He released a second solo disc, “A Very Dull Boy,” in 2002, and wrote for other artists. But in recent years, he’s busied himself with a resurgence of The Hooters that saw the band release its first album of new studio music in 14 years with 2007’s “Time Stand Still,” do several touring stints, and release a new live album, “Both Sides Live,” in 2008.

Bazilian discussed the upcoming show and the future of his solo project and The Hooters in a recent telephone call from his home in Philly:

You’re going to be performing your 2000 solo disc “The Optimist” in its entirety. What else will be in the show?

“Well, if you just take ‘The Optimist’ from start to finish, including the hidden track as an encore, with talking and tuning, you’re looking at 90 minutes right there. The album’s about an hour long, and other stuff happens. But it’s funny you ask that, because I’ve written two songs in the past two days that kind of sound like the same guy that brought you ‘The Optimist.’ So if I can prevail upon my other musicians to learn yet two more bizarre songs, I think I’ll add them.”

Speaking of which, I read on your blog that you said you’re doing massive amounts of songwriting. What kind of projects are they for? Are you looking at another solo disc?

“You know, I am. This whole run of solo shows and ‘Optimist Live’ thing started, oddly enough on Sept. 9 – it was the day The Beatles remasters came out. And for some reason, instead of running out and buying those – ‘cause you know what? Nothing’s going to sound better than my original vinyl, with all the clicks and pops – for some reason I sat down and I listened to ‘The Optimist’ straight through. And I had a ‘what-was-I-thinking’ moment with that. Because I don’t know if it’s just me, but I have that album and I was kind of overwhelmed by its completeness, and the fact that that’s really kind of who I am. And that record – that’s the most honest work I’ve ever done. Every song on that record, I can point at something that’s happened. Every one of those stories is true. And that’s what real songwriting is.”

It’s cool that all these years later, it still holds up for you, as well.

“It does in some ways more than ever. So that was the impetus for this. And what happened was, when I finished it, by the time I finished it I was tired and I was kind of on to the next thing. I was working on a bunch of other projects. So I just threw it out there and I figured, ‘This is a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to my door.’ That’s why I called the label Mousetrap Records.

"Well, maybe it was a better mousetrap, but the world did not beat a path to my door, and I just figured, ‘OK, it’s not that good.’And I didn’t really try. So 10 years later, the record’s as good as it was then and part of me didn’t really feel like I wanted to make another record.

“But on Tuesday,I sat down with an electric guitar and a crunchy little amp and I started playing, and all of a sudden there was a song. And then yesterday, the same thing happened. So I think there’s another record that’s ready to be made [Laughs].” (Continued)

That would be cool. If you need any affirmation, believe me, sales and popularity, as far as from my viewpoint, is not the measure of whether something’s successful or not.

“You know, it’s really not. And it’s funny, because most of the music that’s really gotten me excited in the last couple of years has been totally obscure things. There’s one record in particular by a band called The Action – I think it was recorded in 1967. It was an English band that George Martin signed to his own label and they had had a couple of hits of soul covers.

"But this record was a real album. It was a kind of psychedelic, crunchy guitar record. And apparently, what they ended up releasing just in the last few years were the demos. They never actually went in and did the record for real. And you can tell; it’s just mono, it’s rough, stuff’s out of tune. But it just slays me.”

So after Sellersville, do you expect to put more shows together later?

“Yeah. You know, it’s such a hard ball to get rolling. And I’m so spoiled by The Hooters production. We got out there, we’ve got techs. I basically walk up on stage, somebody hands me a guitar, and I do the show. These shows, it’s a lot of work. And it’s a lot of work for free, basically. And it’s a lot to ask of these other musicians to do, ‘cause it’s a lot of time and effort involved in learning these songs. But I definitely, definitely need to do more shows after these.”

I saw that David U.’s going to be playing with you, and at Sellersville as least, that John Lilley’s actually going to be opening the show.

“Yeah, how ‘bout that?”

So you guys are going to go out as a half-group.

“Another thing that sort of sparked this was David was over here at my studio and we decided to just go downstairs into my loud room, and just play guitar and drums. And all of a sudden I started playing songs from ‘The Optimist,’ and he was the one who said, ‘Hey, let’s go out and do some gigs like this.’

“So my original plan was to do the Record Collector as just guitar and drums – a White Stripes-y kind of a thing. But on Monday night we rehearsed and halfway through I think, ‘God, I wish we had a bass player.’And David said, ‘Yeah, I kind of do, too.’ So I got on the phone, I called Cliff Hillis, who is a great, great singer/songwriter/engineer/producer – he also guitar techs for me in the U.S., when he’s available – but he engineers a lot in my studio. So I called him up and, bless his heart – he was already on line to do Sellersville. So he came over last night, we learned the whole album. And let me tell you – this isn’t like learning a Rolling Stones record. These bass parts are written in stone. All of it is. When you listen to it, I wonder who actually did that record sometimes, ‘cause it’s really sophisticated; it’s crazy. If you actually sit down and analyze it, there’s crazy time stuff, crazy tonal stuff. But it’s gotta be that way.”

Looking out into the future a little bit more, do you see another Hooters album?

“Definitely. We’re working hard on that. I’m not getting a lot of sleep these days.”

I saw that you put out the “Both Sides Live” album in the U.S. now. What was the impetus behind doing that as an album? Just a fans’ thing?

“Yeah, pretty much, you know. It was a document. It was a document of what our live show’s like now. And then we had the idea to do the Secret Sessions. When we’re in Germany, we’re often called upon to do unplugged shows at radio stations. And there’s a whole other life in that – that’s really a gas to do.”

A couple of things off subject a little bit: How cool was it for The Hooters to play the national anthem at Phillies playoff game?

“Oh, oh , oh. Peak life experience. You know what the best thing about it was? We nailed it. I tell you what, that’s a hard thing to do. We’ve done the anthem a bunch of times and it’s ranged from utter chaos to questionably OK. But this time, we nailed it.”

And how about the opportunity to play one of the last shows at the Spectrum last October?

“That was great. That was a great night. The band was really on and the whole vibe, with all the returnees, it was great. It was a little overwhelming because there were a lot of people there that I wanted to spend the whole evening with and I just didn’t get a chance to.”

What other projects are you working on right now?

“I’m traveling to L.A. a lot and writing with everybody in the world out there. Just trying to keep my head open and keep things fresh – get inspired. I also did some amazing music in Sweden, where we live – we live up in the north. We did one show there that was another peak life experience. It was with four musicians, all of whom were just spectacular. I’ve never met a bad musician in Sweden. But this particular group was just amazing. And then to add to the equation, we had a woman named Lill-Babs. She is maybe the Peggy Lee, or maybe the Doris Day of Sweden. She’s, I think, 73 years old. She did four of her songs with us, and it was riveting.”

if I remember correctly, Joan Baez opened the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia followed by the Hooters. The Hooters were one of my favorite bands back then. I worked the show for Electric Factory Concerts and had a back stage pass for the show.

Posted By: Bert Grosman | Jan 24, 2010 11:01:37 AM

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.